Broken Blue Balloons (Islamic Story) ON HOLD

The second letter

Chapter 4

I didn't know why I was doing this. I didn't understand what I was doing here. Something inside of me told me to follow the instructions in the letter. Maybe it was because of the fact that I had never received a letter before. Maybe it was because I felt a bond towards the letter. Like I was hypnotized by it and should only do what it said. I looked around me and saw a lot of people. Some of them were rushing. Some were eating and others were laughing with each other. It was this thing again. I think it was a celebration kind of thing. Seda always has a day off each year because they sell food or stuff at the mosques. I shook my head and turned around to walk away. I had nothing to look for here. I shouldn't listen to a letter that did say such thing. I mean, who d-

"I'm sorry!" I heard from beside me when someone crashed into me. I felt my body warm up and looked down to see that I have food poured all over my body. I looked at the person who was the cause of it and saw the girl looking at me with wide eyes. She put the pan on the floor and put her hand on her mouth.

"I am really sorry! I didn't see you there!" she said. No one does, did my mind tell myself.

"It's okay. I was going home anyway" I said and she shook her head when I said that. She grabbed my arm and started walking.

"I always take spare clothes with me when this day happens. I am very clumsy, as you figured" she said. I didn't say anything. I just kept looking around me. We were inside of the mosque now. I had never entered a mosque before. It was the first ever. I had to admit it, it looked very beautiful. The walls were white. It just made you feel better instantly. White means pureness, it means perfection. It stands for innocence and wholeness. It means new beginnings, its blank, waiting to get form and color of other meanings. It makes everything look bigger and that makes your heart get bigger too. I looked around. It was not a coincidence that everything was white.

"What is happening here?" I asked the girl, referring to the crowd outside. She looked at me for a second before turning to a room where it looked like was for me to change into clothes.

"We have this day in the year that we come to the mosque with a lot of food and clothes and stuff, and then sell it. It is like a bazaar kind of thing" she said while opening a bag she took from the floor. She took out a long black dress and gave it to me.

"I know it may not be your style but its the only thing I have. I am really sorry for pouring food on you" she said and handed me the dress. I half-smiled at her, grabbing the piece of fabric she handed out to me.

"Its okay. I like it" I said.

"You can change in the bathrooms. Its the second door from there" she said and pointed at a wall where three doors were placed. I nodded at her and walked over to the door and went in. The bathroom was very small but I managed to get in the dress. I awkwardly folded my dirty clothes and held them a few inches away from my body so that I wouldn't get any mess on me. I went out and saw that the girl was still there. She looked at me from head to toe.

"You look really good in that dress. To make it up to you for pouring food on you, I will pay you lunch. Come on" she said and started walking the way we came from. I tried telling her that she shouldn't do that but it was no use. I gave up in the end, and, I mean, I was hungry anyway.

"Do you make all the food yourselves?" I asked her. She nodded at me.

"Yeah, a lot of people make it at home and then sell it here. But we also have meat coming from the slaughterhouse. That is what I want to treat you. Do you know döner?" she asked me. I shook my head. I didn't eat meat a lot. I was not a vegetarian but I did think their ideology was right. Maybe I will ever become a vegetarian. We went outside and I felt like everyone was looking at me because of the dress. This wasn't something people like me would wear.

"Come, this way" the girl said when I forgot about her and kept walking forwards. I looked at her and smiled. We walked a bit further and stopped in front of a little table where two guys were putting meat and vegetables in some bread. I was amazed at how fast they were doing that. The girl started talking a language I didn't know and one of the guys replied. I was looking around and something caught my attention. It was a bit under the table left from me but still visible. The color and the handwriting were very familiar. I looked around me and saw no one. Then I bend down and grabbed the envelope. It was the same as the other one. I saw my name written on it. I looked around again. Who was doing this? I then turned to the envelope again and opened it, taking out the letter. It was shorter than the other one.

'Nila..

How happy it is that you followed the rules. The fear is shouting from your eyes. Don't be scared. This is all to help you. Your little guider.'

I folded it immediately when I read it and put it in my pocket. Then I looked around and saw that no one had seen it.

"There it is" said the girl that was buying me food. I grabbed it and thanked her, but my eyes were still searching around for the person who did this.

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Random Fact: I love working at the bazaars of our Masjid